Yep, that's more like the picture I had in my head. I'd guessed that the iconic Zulu shield might be involved.

Its nowhere as big as the traditional Zulu shield its about a foot from tip to tip and when I did it had about 2 inches of very modern, very western foam on the back which the grip was built into, to protect your hand from blows from the knobkerrie.

Here's a video of someone else at Lesedi doing some stickfighting. Although mine was a bit more serious on both sides than this, we still weren't really going for each other.

I saw a documentary on the telly involving a tribe in Africa whose variouse clans met up once a year to settle thier differances.
They used long thin sticks 6' long(maybe more) with a little bell end carved into the tip
The technique looked quite straight forward... they just wacked at each other till one or other gave up. Proper two handed belts.
They wore armour made from leather and wood and cloth padding. Even though, some of the injuries were very nasty

I know in Ethiopia they have long sticks and fully on go for it, lots of nasty injuries, cracked skulls etc... as a result.

One of the most brutal African combat sports is Dambe, Nigerian boxing. Where they have one fist covered in very tightly knotted cords which cause horrible cuts and wounds on their opponents. I have heard that there are allegedly some bouts where they do the whole dipping the 'gloved' hand in glue and glass, but I'm not sure they really exist.

One of the most brutal African combat sports is Dambe, Nigerian boxing. Where they have one fist covered in very tightly knotted cords which cause horrible cuts and wounds on their opponents. I have heard that there are allegedly some bouts where they do the whole dipping the 'gloved' hand in glue and glass, but I'm not sure they really exist.

Sport *and* deadly? Or a deadly sport? Doesn't that violate some fundamental law of the universe?

Sport *and* deadly? Or a deadly sport? Doesn't that violate some fundamental law of the universe?

Lol, if you're Hausa, living in your homeland, you basically have no access to healthcare and or modern health and safety.

So then I can definitely believe teh sport= teh deadly.

Like the time I had a cyst burst on my shin bone from dodgy ashiwaza and got infected, fever, felt terrible etc... If it wasn't for modern antibiotics and anti-inflammatories I would probably be dead from blood poisoning.